Summary

• The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise suffers from some convoluted and contradictory plot elements.
• The movies often ignore established rules and create continuity issues.
• Characters make illogical decisions and behave inconsistently, leading to confusing storytelling.

The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had a strong start, but its quality decreased with the release of each new sequel. The adventures of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow and his fellow pirates comprise several popular movies. Yet audiences' enthusiasm for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies gradually decreased and certain plot holes became harder to ignore.

Pirates of the Caribbean does not have the strictest magic system – the self-contained Aztec curse from the first movie works because it drives the plot in a clear way and produces dramatic effect. Subsequent curses and monsters in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies grew progressively more convoluted and contradictory. Additional issues arise when the writers pile on to storylines, essentially undoing the simplicity of the straightforward adventures that made the early movies popular.

10 Will's Medallion Does Not "Call" To The Black Pearl Crew

Curse Of The Black Pearl

In the opening scene of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Elizabeth Swann spots Will Turner unconsciously floating on driftwood and a ship in flames is discovered shortly after. Elizabeth notices that Will is wearing one of the Aztec medallions and takes it from him. Years later, when Elizabeth (now played by Kiera Knightley) topples off the battlements of Port Royal, the medallion reacts to the ocean water and emits a large pulse. It is later revealed that this happened because "the gold calls" to the cursed crew of the Black Pearl.

However, the medallion notably did not do the same thing years earlier when Will survived the shipwreck. If the Black Pearl's crew attacked Will's ship knowing the medallion was on board, they would have been on the lookout for it in the surrounding wreckage. If it was a coincidence, they would have been alerted to the medallion's presence as soon as Will fell into the ocean. Will's makeshift raft is evidently not keeping him dry or preventing the medallion from coming into with the water.

9 Ragetti Reacts To Hot Coals When He Should Not Feel Anything

Curse Of The Black Pearl

When the pirates attack the governor's mansion, Elizabeth releases a tray of hot coals onto the pirate Ragetti (Mackenzie Crook). He shouts at being burned, and she is given time to (temporarily) escape. Yet Ragetti, like the rest of the Black Pearl's crew, has been cursed by the Aztec gold to feel nothing. Therefore, it does not make sense for him to react to the coals. It would not have been that difficult to write a different clever escape for Elizabeth that did not create continuity issues.

8 Will Is Doing His Job And Should Not Be Covered In Barnacles

Dead Men Tell No Tales

When Jack expresses his interest in taking Davy Jones' immortality in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Will (Orlando Bloom) reminds Jack that he has to do the job of ferrying souls to the next world. "Or end up just like Jones," says Will, gesturing to his face. The implication is that Davy Jones and his crew only became sea-creature-inspired monsters because Jones abandoned his true purpose.

Yet Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – when he appears again, he is covered in barnacles. The plot does not suggest that Will is doing anything other than the established role of Davy Jones. This is especially confusing because in At World's End, the Flying Dutchman's crew became normal men when Will became captain. Will also visits his family in the post credits scene and appears normal.

7 The Sand "Tells" Jack Where To Find Davy Jones' Chest

Dead Man's Chest

While searching for the chest containing Davy Jones' heart, Elizabeth is given the com that points to the thing the holder wants most. Supposedly, she should be able to locate the chest because she wants to use it to save Will. However, Elizabeth is subconsciously questioning what she wants and eventually throws the com to the ground and sits down in frustration. Jack observes the com as it turns again, and tells Elizabeth that she is sitting on the chest. Does this mean that what the sand wanted most was to find the chest of Davy Jones? It is not clear how Jack pinpointed the final location.

6 Barbossa Cuts Off His Leg Instead of Cutting Away Ropes

On Stranger Tides

Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) reveals to Jack that he lost the Black Pearl when Blackbeard used an enchanted sword to make the ship's rigging come to life and ensnare the crew. Barbossa was forced to cut off his own leg to free himself. He does not explain why he did not just cut away the ropes. While it is possible that Barbossa was unable to reach the ropes in whatever position he was in, it is hard not to notice this plot hole when the audience did not witness it firsthand.

5 Elizabeth Threatens To Drop The Medallion In The Ocean When The Black Pearl Crew Could Retrieve It

Curse Of The Black Pearl

While attempting to negotiate an end to the attack on Port Royal, Elizabeth threatens to drop her medallion into the ocean, having deduced that it is what the pirates are after. The crew visibly reacts to her threat. Yet the cursed pirates cannot drown – they are even seen walking on the ocean floor later in the movie. They should not have been so threatened when they could have retrieved the medallion themselves. They appear to still be in Port Royal's relatively shallow harbor and the medallion would have theoretically been close to the ship, so it wouldn't have even been that difficult to find.

4 Syrena Has No Reason To Bring Jack The Chalices

On Stranger Tides

The chalices needed to enact the restorative powers of the Fountain of Youth are seemingly lost when the mermaid Syrena (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) retrieves them and brings them back to Jack. She tells him, "Do not waste my tear," as though she cares about pirates wanting to gain immortality. While Jack may not have personally participated in Syrena's capture and torment, he did not do anything to end it either. The only person who shows her kindness is Philip (Sam Claflin). Syrena rescues Philip, but she has no reason to care about Jack. She only delivers the chalices so the plot can come to an allegedly satisfying conclusion.

3 Will Does Not Die When The Curse Is Broken

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), along with Jack and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), free Will from the curse binding him to the flying Dutchman in Dead Men Tell No Tales. However, the fact that Will had his heart cut out in At World's End goes unaddressed. Will is shown to have sealed his heart away in Davy Jones' chest and left it with Elizabeth in the previous movie. With no heart, Will should have died the moment the curse was broken. This is just one established plot element the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie rewrites to get the story it wants.

2 The East India Trading Company Leaves And Is Never A Problem Again

At World's End

Among Will and Elizabeth are known pirates at this point and have even been arrested for crimes of piracy. Yet Elizabeth is living on the island of Port Royal in Dead Men Tell No Tales, with no one from the British Navy ever troubling her.

1 Davy Jones Is Inexplicably Resurrected

Dead Men Tell No Tales

In the post-credits scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales, Davy Jones is implied to have been resurrected when Will was freed from the Flying Dutchman. Why the curse of Davy Jones being broken should cause Jones to rise again is not obvious. The writers might want to suggest that someone must do the job of Davy Jones, and Will's retirement forced his predecessor to come back. It is a confusing plot element that demonstrates Pirates of the Caribbean's tendency to resurrect characters with explanations and introduce nonsensical conflict.